Thoughts from someone who remembers when we respected our president and enjoyed the esteem of the world; when our airwaves weren't polluted by rancid, hate-filled diatribes of reckless talking heads; when our Senators and Representatives legislated first for the good of the nation and not special interest agendas; when religion was spiritual, not political; and, the rights of women were respected, not constantly under attack by political panderers. We can do better.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Cheney's Image Crumbling

When Vice President Dick Cheney's offered his mea culpa of what happened when he shot hunting companion Harry Whittleford he tried to be a Marlboro man.

Weren't you left with the idea that Cheney, the strong and silent type, deferred to eye witness and experienced hunter Katharine Armstrong as the ranch owner where the accident happened. The scene goes...."My Gawd, this is terrible. Can't let Harry's family find out from the press. Katharine, you take care of it gal."

Actually, the scene played out more like, "My Gawd, this is a terrible moment. Everyone keep quiet, I'll handle this. Take Harry to the hospital then let's eat dinner."

Well, Katharine in a very lady-like Texan way set the record straight about who did what and when. According to her statement she, her sister Sara Armstrong Hixon, and her mother made a family decision after breakfast Sunday, the day after the shooting, to make the incident public. She said very clearly that this was a family decision and their idea.

One other thing, besides hiding behind his female hunting companions skirts, Cheney let ride without comment the insinuation that the incident was poor Whittington's fault for not declaring loudly "Simon says I'm back." But, according to hunting experts, it is up to the hunter to make sure before you pull the trigger that the field in front of you is clear. Guess Cheney is kind of fast on the trigger.

Which is the perfect metaphor for how this administration has handled so many things under Cheney's tutelage, including the war in Iraq. His itchy trigger finger propelled us into a war with a contained secular nation. By not understanding the religious, social and political terrain before him, Cheney misfired and this secular nation is now a dangerous hotbed of extremist Muslims. So, the strong and silent I-know-best Cheney image is crumbling. In its place we see the cold and calculating power broker behind the curtain....a curtain that keeps him from clearly seeing the fields of fire.

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

Yes, it does seem the strong and silent "I-know-best" Dick Cheney image has begun to crumble in the public view following the accidental shooting of his friend.

President Bush may be correct in saying that Cheney was "profoundly affected" by the experience (one cannot be sure)....is he still? To anyone's knowledge, Cheney, one of the chief architects of the debacle in Iraq, has never admitted that he was wrong nor has he shown that he was "profoundly affected" by the unnecessary death, destruction and instability that he has helped to perpetrate in the Middle East.